K-12 teachers and students across the country are increasingly using AI in and out of classrooms, whether it is teachers turning to AI to refine lesson plans or students asking AI to help them research a particular topic.
An estimated 85% of K-12 public school teachers recently reported that they used AI during the 2024-2025 school year, often for curriculum and content development.
In 2023, 13% of teens said they used ChatGPT to complete their schoolwork, while 26% of them said in 2025 that they were using ChatGPT for this purpose.
Similarly, 86% of K-12 students shared in 2025 that they have used AI in general. An estimated 50% of students reported that they use it for schoolwork, such as for learning more about topics outside of what was taught in class, tutoring on specific subjects, receiving help with a homework assignment, or asking for college advice.
However, policies and training have not kept pace with how frequently teachers and students are using AI.
Only 35% of school district leaders reported in 2025 that they provided students with any AI training, according to the global policy think tank RAND Corp. Additionally, 45% of principals reported school or district policies or guidance on the use of AI in schools, according to these findings.
Another challenge is that students are also using AI for potentially dangerous uses. There are recent examples of students who self-harmed or died by suicide after they used AI for mental health support. A 2025 study found that when a chatbot responded to 60 simulated scenarios that posed mental health questions, the chatbots sometimes made harmful proposals—such as cutting off all human contact for a month or dropping out of school.
